2007 HOG AZ State Rally Run - Day 1

Morning of Day 1 - trip to see Tif and HOG AZ State Rally. "Are you trailering the bike?" - NO. What's the point of that?

Forecast yesterday for today - morning rain showers. :(

Woke up at 5:00 to do some work, get a few things ready... Forecast - Mostly sunny - looked outside. Dry roads, no rain. YES!

So, paying a few last minute bills, packing a few last minute things, talking to Jaimer and waiting for Tina to get up. We can't leave too early, have to wait for the sun to come up and warm things up. But its looking like a great and early start - which will make today's trip awesome.

More from the road...

Where's my heart?

Had lunch with an awesome friend the other day. Discussed numerous things, and one of the things he asked me was, "Where's your heart?". The context and meaning was, "So - how do you stand with God? What's going on with that part of your life? How come you aren't back in church?" This was not meant as a guilt thing, it was just a question. A general desire to know.

That is the cool thing about good friends and part of what I feel it means for "iron to sharpen iron". Keeps you on track. Makes you reflect. All good stuff.

So - in case anyone cares - or just because this is what I do sometimes - journal stuff, here is basically what I said.

God and I are good. Christians and I are good. The church "Jesus' bride" are good. Me and the church as an organization - kind of whatever.

I don't miss church at all. I kind of did at Easter. After all - for so many years Easter was pretty consuming. Doing much practice to put some kind of program together. And not just "a program" - but truely meaningful, you can feel God's presence, impact the people, kind of stuff. So not doing any of that was - just kind of weird.

But on a Sunday to Sunday basis - nope, don't miss it at all.

What I really miss is *worship*. And we all have our quirks and what we like and all that stuff. And for me, what "works" - what makes me feel God's presence, is passionate, go with the flow, follow the Holy Spirit, slamming worship. The kind where Teresa's sax or Bobby's guitar just goes off and Greg's bass follows it, and I've heard it before it even started, and you can feel it in the pit of your stomach and you know its coming, and you just can't stand still - so if you are playing percussion you jump, and if you are drumming you start rocking and playing across the symbols - and then you feel it and it all goes quite all of a sudden and everything comes down - and then it swells again - and you just feel His presense and here His voice - and stuff happens... and then its been 30 minutes or an hour and you didn't even know time passed.

Yeah... I really miss that. And so much of me doesn't believe I can find that in "church" - and perhaps part of me is afraid to even look.

But my heart is ok... and I don't "mind" visiting a church... and "worship" is ok... and I'm really busy at work doing really cool stuff.

But I do miss it.

T minus 2 days

Leave in 2 days... that's the morning after tomorrow. And yes, all that white stuff hiding the lawn is indeed snow... I'm sure by the morning after next it will all be gone, the sun will be shinning and it will be nice and warm...

But just in case not, we might move the departure time from 7:30 till 9:00 or so, when the sun warms up.

And when we get to Tuscon it is supposed to be 92. One day its 40, two days later its 90. Yeah... dress in layers.

Tough Chick

So I'm sitting at my desk, finishing my lunch, when I get the following email from Tina - who the night before said, "My finger is all swelled up and I can't bend it. I think something is wrong", to which I replied after looking at it, "Yeah, I think you should go to the doctor and have them look at it."

Me again,

I know you are busy, but I wanted to tell you that my finger is turning purple and I can't bend it anymore. Jen said I should go to the doctor and have them lance it because it was infected inside. So I had Candie get me a sterile tool that is pointed (for scraping teeth) and I dug the corner and lifted it up. A bunch of puss came out and I squeezed it for awhile. Then I soaked it in peroxide. It bubbled for a while. I will drain it again in a while and soak it again so maybe it will be ok. Sounds gross doesn't it? I didn't want to go the doctor and have them do it!

Why go to the doctor when you can just perform surgery on yourself?

stats

Jaime looking at my blog and talking to Tina

Lets look at the Label counts:

• Hog: 29
  
• Politics: 22
  
• PeaBaby: 15
  
• Vacation: 9
  
• Geek: 8
  
• News: 5
  
• RedLightConversations: 3

and...

• Jaimer: *ONE*

I guess we see where *I* rate.

OK... now there are *TWO* - she's moving up the list. ;)

Getting close

PeaBaby,

Your mom posted another entry. She is *so cute*. Well to you she'll probably seem all grown up and adult like, but to me she is still my cute little girl. And if you read her blog... yeah, she doesn't have the "I'm an adult and have this all figured out" attitude... but then many first time parents don't.

I read Mighty Girl's post on her labor yesterday. Excellent post. Perhaps a bit graphic in spots, but really took me back to when your mom and aunt where born. Yeah... its the most magical of times. Hopefully when we get the news that you are arriving we can make it down to AZ in time. I'd love to be there to say "Hi!" when you arrive.

Speaking of seeing you... Only 11 more days till we leave to come down there! We got packed (while we are there and summer clothes) this weekend and grandma will be shipping them on Wed. We are hoping to take a nice leisurly trip down - maybe taking 3 days... But given the weather is good, I think its more likely going to be a "Get up at the crack of dawn and see how far we can make it in one day - arriving mid-afteroon of the second day" kind of trip. Yeah - we are pretty excited to see you and your mom - and you dad too. :)

The bike is all piped and ready to go. Your grandma and I have been talking about getting you on a bike when you are only a few days old. A few issues with that, like getting the bike down there or renting one and convincing your mom that its totally safe to have you on a motorcycle with a little skull cap and your Harley booties. :)

Well that was just exciting... I was just writting this when your grandma asked me to move your aunt's car, which was blocking her from leaving and going to work. So I went out (in my bathrobe - yes its 37 degrees outsdie) and got in the car and started it up. It takes a sec 'cuz I'm not used to driving it and looked down to see how to release the parking brake - when I noticed your grandma about to run into me. Yes - it was time for her to leave and the fact that I was sitting a couple of feet behind her was not apparently going to stop her from leaving. So I jammed it into reverse and stomped on the gas - shooting back a few feet - only to notice someone coming down the street. So I hit the brakes and looked back towards your grandma's car. Lukily I had put a few more feet between us, and now the other car was passed the driveway so I backed out into the street. By then grandma had notice me, stopped, and then continued to back out. That got my heart pumping and my already too high blood pressure sky-rocketing. I'm sure you're gradma will say "Hey - I saw you there, I was just *slowly* backing up." But yeah - it didn't feel like that at the time.

I'm sure you'll have many such stories to tell your folks as you grow up. Grandparent stories are so fun. :) So I'm just giving you some background info early. :)

Love you kid - see you in less than 2 weeks! Yeah, you won't be able to see us, but we'll read to you and I'll be the one poking your mom's stomach when you are both trying to sleep - so I can play with you. :)

Papa James.

Turned out to be a great day

Dropped the bike off at the shop on Thursday to get it "piped", a L-to-R (Live to Ride, Ride to Live) air cover added and a new back tire. Yes - time for a new back tire, we are 70 miles short of 9K miles already - and its almost 2 months of nice weather before we've had it a year! Anyway - I digress. So - dropped the bike off on Thursday because Friday was going to be the "mighty spring blizzard" and so we probably wouldn't be able to pick the bike up till Monday.

Friday the streets never even turned white.

Saturday - the sun is shinning - it is beautiful out. "Wonder if the bike is done?", Tina asks. "They'll call" I reply... My cell phone chirps with the "you've got voice mail sound". I listen

Jose: "You're bike is ready. I think you are really going to be pleased. It sounds great and the dyno-tune turned out really well. Great investement"

Cool.

Jaime takes me to get the bike. Jose pulls it around... YEAH - It sounds like a Harley now. Went with Rush slash-up medium baffle pipes. Sam was right - they sound awesome. Not *too* loud, but like a Harley. And the pipes look great. I see a stock Blcak Perl Ultra in the lot - and it doesn't even look "right". Yeah, Capt'n Jack is definately becoming our own bike.

I head for the Elephant Bar - to meet Bec and Tina for lunch. I get about 1.5 miles and hear a bike behind me, so I pull over to the right of my lane as I pull up to a red light. This guy on a black chopper pulls up behind me.

G: Man I *love it* when the weather lets us out.
M: Yeah, beautiful day
G: Are those pipes brand new?
M: Yeah *brand new*. I *just* got them. And got it dyno-tuned.
G: Really - have you noticed much difference?
M: No... I mean I *just* picked it up. Like a mile from here.
G: Oh... just now at the shop. I thought so - I could still see the shinny on the inside of your pipes.

We talk a little more about his bike, dyno-tuning, etc. Then the light turns green and off we go.

Had lunch, then had to go home the long way - just to ride the "new" bike some. It sounds very cool. Can't really tell if it feels that much difference power wise. Its quick - but is always been kind of quick. Time will tell when we take some hills loaded down.

Then got home and kept pestering Tina to go for a ride. She loves the sound when I showed it to her, but hadn't riden it yet. We finally decide to do some trip shopping (she needed to pick up a few more things) on the bike and then go for dinner.

It was a great day, out on the bike, listening to it rumble (but no loud back-fire pops which I didn't want - the shop did a great job), enjoying the warm sun. Especially given we were expecting it to blizzard.

Maybe today if its awesome out we'll go for a ride somewhere. Yeah...

Slinging code

Yesterday was a very busy, but good day at work.

We are working on a new system using a different domain (different type of Sheriff system - using data and customer's that we haven't worked with that much before). So that in itself is interesting. Always cool to see what we can do with the system, how we can attack a domain, help a customer, etc.

We've been standing this system up pretty fast and two of our customer's were going to be here this week. We showed them an initial prototype of the system a while back, and Monday we showed two of them what we had since then. We planned on having aother demo for their VP today (Wed). During the demo the customer said, "It would be really cool if you could by Wed." and then went out to say some more stuff. After a minute or two I said, "Did you say that would be cool by Wed??" He laughed and said yes - it would probably show some very cool stuff if we could get that in. So I said I'd give it a shot. My boss said to try it but don't worry about it if I could get it done.

The "It would be cool if" combined with "Don't worry if you can't get it done"... yeah, pretty much threw down the gauntlet. :)

Another person on the team started pulling data we needed, another one worked on some GUI changes, and I started writting rules and slinging backend code. Had to change code for numerous parts of the system - plus write tests for all of it since we are test driven. I skipped some afternoon meetings and had some initial components coded by the time I went home. Got up at 3:30 AM and started coding more.

Got a few more components coded and was feeling pretty good. Worked out, made Moroccan Chicken, got ready for work and headed in for a 9:00 meeting. During the meeting said we'd probably have code ready today (Tue) so we could look at it before the demo.

By early afternoon most of it was in place - but I was starting to feel a little anxious. Just like in school. You know you can get the project done, but you've been slinging code and not thinking about it too much. I was really shoe-horning it in, but it looked like it was all going to come together. Started the system a few times, sending data and each time some small thing didn't work quite right. Now it was after 3:00 and folks wanted to see it before they left for the day... Always nice to see what you are going to demo the previous day. No surprises!

So - I'm sending data - checking things, fixing things. Just small stupid stuff.

And then our acceptance tester, who was just following along on irc and had an idea of what was going on, said "Hey, is this supposed to work like this?" He's great. Caught a bug w/o having a big discussion. Just added some tests and was running them as I was updating CVS and caught something. I took a look - yup, got an issue, discussed it and got a fix in and he re-tested. Looks good.

Then about 4:00 - cool - looks like data is going through. The GUI guy (working remote) said on irc - "We've got data!" and I brought the GUI up and there it was. :) :)

Spent the next few hours on irc talking to one of the customers (who really liked what he saw) and then going over it with management who was probably going to demo it.

All in all - a fairly intense 24 hours of coding. Not an all nighter like I used to pull, but still - some fairly focused, a little stressed, gotta get it done, programming. It rakwed :)

Wouldn't want to do it every day, but once in a while that kind of effort is really fun. Reminded me of school... I started craving Jolt cola and Domino's pizza. ;)

Demo is right after lunch. Should be very good!

Moroccan Chicken

This past weekend I went grocery shopping without much of a plan as to what I was going to make. Usually I plan out meals, make a list, and then go pick stuff up. But this time I figured I'd just see what the store had to offer and go from there. As I've been doing a lot of slow-cooker stuff lately, your typical slow cooker veggies (onions, celery, green peppers) are always a good bet. However, when I got to the store they had some big artichokes on sale! This got me thinking. Maybe I could do something with them? Then I remembered going to a Morrocan place for dinner and having "Chicken with Artichokes". Sure... I could come up with something. And it would be different - yeah, I get bored with the same old thing all the time. So I gave it a whirl and it turned out pretty good!

This dish is going to be layered in the slow cooker as described below:

• 1 Large Onion - cut in 1/8ths, vertically, and then pull the outer layer of skin and cut off the top, but leave the bottom in tact so that it stays togeter.
  
• 6 chicken breasts. I used boneless/skinless - but you could easily use the other kind.
  
• 2 tsp 5 spice powder
  
• 1 Head of garlic - peel the cloves (about 15)
  
• 1/4 C Honey
  
• 1/4 C Pistachio nuts
  
• 2 Artichokes - cut in 1/2, Rinsed, Salted
  
• 1 15.5 oz can Garbonzo Beans
  
• 2 14 oz can's chicken stock
  
• Water

I wasn't sure if the artichokes would "steam" if I just placed them on top and didn't have liquid to cover them - so I packed on this in as well as I could and then added the chicken stock. Then I added more water (about another 14 oz) until the water was close to the top of the slow cooker. Turns out smaller artichokes might have worked better - but it all turned out.

I thought it was really good. The onions really picked up the flavor of the garlic and honey. The chicken was a bit dry (as boneless/skinless in a slow cooker turns out to be with a liquid sauce) - but I let the liquid sit a few minutes after pulling everything off and then skimmed some off the top and used that as a sauce to dip my chicken in.

Jaime thought it was really good too. Tina said, "Well I don't hate it...". She isn't a big fan of "different" - but said she doesn't mind if I cook that way once in a while. :)

I served it with couscous. It had a great taste and artichokes are always fun to eat. I'll definately make it again, the next time I'm in the mood for something "different".

How did google know that?

So yeah... I could stand to lose some weight. Tina and my Dr have been telling me for a while. But when I check gmail and google has placed

Causes of Fat Stomach

in the trailer at the top... you know its getting serious. ;)

I still got it

This happens quite often, but this was a little better. :)

Stopped by Tina's office to xfer some data with a jump drive. They were having issues getting a softcopy of a doc from one computer to another, so I said I'd stop by and xfer it with my jump drive, assuming both computers have USB ports (which they did). So - just a quick stop, xfer a file, and get to work. So I did that. Stopped by in my leathers, went in, walked in - nodded to Candy, walked behind the desk, pulled the jump drive from around my neck, did the xfer, said See ya and headed out. After I left one of the patients said:

P: That was *Tina's* husband?
C: Yeah
P: Tina looks so... proper.... And he was dressed in all leathers and stuff...

P: He's hot!

LOL - Yeah... almost 50 year old grandpa man. I still got it at times. :)

The ego boost, or laugh, or smile or whatever - was certainly worth the 2 minutes it took me to xfer the data. :)

In Training

Less than a month until we head to see Tif and the HOG AZ State Rally. Approx 850 miles in two days. So far about the most we've ridden since last fall is 90 miles or so.

Yesterday we went to Southside Johnny's for lunch, and then road east. Made it out to Wetmore, Yoder, Rush and the Lincoln County line. We were thinking about continuing east to 71 - but didn't look it up ahead of time and weren't sure if it headed north. (It does). So - a big loop would be to head out to 71, up to Limon, and then back west. In any case, we turned around, back to Calahan Hwy, north to Judge Orr and then back into town, stopping at Frankies on the way. It was a good practice run, putting in 105 miles and making a few stops.

We are now thinking about going to Taos for a weekend, sometime before we head to AZ. Last year we had made quite a few runs before going to see Tif. We're just worried that making short runs around town or close by (due to the winter weather) and then doing 850 miles in two days, may not be wise. So we'll try to get in some longer runs before then.

Would like to get the pipes done this week (if they come in) then do a trip to try out the dyno-tune, then when we get back get new tires on right before the trip. May just do the tires at the same time and get it all done at once.

Anyway - training is going pretty good. :)

Beautiful Day

Not a cloud in the sky, peak has fresh snow, the trees right below the treeline have fresh powder in them. 19 degrees, 60 MPH riding in on the Harley. A bit brisk, but what a nice ride. :)

PeaBaby's first pics

Tif fixed the uploading of her pics so her ultrasound pics now show up. So if you haven't seen them yet, go check them out.

Little Boys

Pulled into the garage last night and got off the bike - two little boys (5 and 7 maybe?) came sliding up into the driveway on their skateboards and popped them up, grabbing them, then stood looking at me.

Boy1: Hi
Me: Hello
B2: Hi!
M: Hi!
They look around for a second.
B2: My dad broke his arm on his motorcycle
M: Oh?
B2: But he can drive it really good now! and grins
M: That's good
first boy skates off - second boy looks around
B2: Is Darren still here? next door neighbor kid
M: No
B2: He moved?
M: Yeah
B2: Ok... and skates off

Hey... I'm going to have one of these pretty soon! :)

Pictures play through my head of pulling up to Tif's on the Harley and PeaBaby comes skating down the street on his skateboard yelling "PapaJames!" - Yeah... I'm all choked up now. This is going to be *so cool*!

PeaBaby is a boy

At work and busy... but just had to announce that PeaBaby is a boy. How cool is that? :)

PeaBaby,

Sorry about calling you she and her. Won't happy again.

Love ya,
PapaJames.

Boy or Girl?

Tif goes in for an ultra-sound today and they say the can find out if PeaBaby is a boy or girl. Since they were "sure" Jaime was a boy (and she obviously isn't) - I'm not sure I trust the results... But I guess they've come a long way in the last 20 years. :)

Tina is going to call me... So today is the day we find out. I'm all nervous for some reason (or maybe exicited is a better word), all of a sudden.

Pipes

Tina has been wanting to "pipe" the bike for some time. As they say, to "make it sound like a Harley." I thought it voided the warrenty, but she talked to the service guys and it doesn't. Yesterday I took the bike in for scheduled maintenance, and found out last night was "HOG Night". Given we would get at least 15% off on some parts, and 25% on others... we went for it. Got the parts, waiting for one more to come in, and then we are having it piped. Before the big trip to the AZ Rally in May.

As part of having it piped, they are doing a dyno-tune on it. Which should give us some more power and make it a bit easier to take the hills when we are both on it, with full bags plus the T-bag. That should be cool. They asked if I was thinking about doing any other work to the engine. Such as moving it from a 88 to a 96 or 103. "Not right now"... We'll see. :)

I did talk to them about the fact that I'd like it louder with a low-rumble (Harley sound) but I don't want it backfiring all the time like some bikes. And they said that was possible - its based on how they tune it.

So... its exciting... We'll see how it turns out. I think we'll take it in next week. Which will give us a chance to put some miles on it before the trip at the beginning of May. We will also need a new back tire... but we might put a few more miles on the one we have before the trip.

~8250 miles on it since July. So less that a year, w/o all the Spring riding, and with a hard winter. Looking at probably 10K miles a year or so... Guess we are going to go through some tires. :)

Oh... and the official line isn't "Because it sounds cool" or "Because it makes it sound like a Harley" - but "Loud pipes save lifes! In other words - If they can't see ya, but they can hear ya, they know you are there." Which I totally agree with - but I think the first two play into it as well. :)

Teriyaki Chicken

Not much a recipe... more of a serving suggestion for Teriyaki Chicken. :) I haven't been cooking "big" things lately, just throwing stuff together that is easy and I can:

• Throw in the slow cooker
  
• Prep before work and quickly cook when I get home
  
• Prep/cook quickly when I get home
  

I usually don't feel like cooking much after a long day at work, and neither does anyone else. So usually its fast food, slow cooker, or something that is pretty easy. Here is one such recipie.

---

4 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 C Mr Yoshida's Teriyaki Sauce
1 t Five Spice Powder
1.5 t Ground Ginger
2 Cloves Garlic, sliced

---

In the morning:

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a gallon size zip-lock bag. Combine. Add Chicken, push out all the air, and then zip. Place in a container (in case the zip leaks) and put in fridge for the day.

When you get home:

Put the chicken on a rack, back at 350 for... 45 minutes or so. Till its done. :)

---

I usually serve this with Ramen Noodles - cook normal but pour off the broth. Just a fast way to make some noodles. And some stir-fry veggies.

I did the above last week - but diced the chicken. When I got home, stir-fried it with veggies I had prepped in the morning (cubed/sliced: onion, celery, water chestnuts, mushroom, red bell peppers) and then stir fried 1/2 a Nappa Cabbage on the side. I then made a "bowl" of noodels, cabbage, stir-fried chicken/veggies. Yum.

Since I still had 1/2 a nappa cabbage left - and it keeps, this week... Doing the above and cooking the breast. Then stir-frying the nappa cabbage and a side dish of snow peas, onions, yellow bell peppers and water chestnuts. Pretty much the same dish, but a little different. Like I said... things I can cook fast. :)

Recipies

I've decided to move my recipe blog here. Now that blogger has lables, there isn't much reason to have separate blogs. This capability gives me the ability to put everything in one place, but stills allows people (or me) the ability to use the lables to refine searches, read back through previous posts about a particular topic, etc. Having a number of blogs, I used to cross post here on my main blog saying "Go check out xxx on my yyy blog." Now I don't have to do that. I'll keep the other ones - since I'm not going to go move all the old entries here - at least not now, but new stuff will just show up here. Anyway - that is why recipies will start showing up here. :)

PeaBaby's Mommy

Tif if starting her own blog. PeaBaby's Mommy. How very cool. :) - Now I can read it and cry. :)

Speaking of PeaBaby... Here are a couple of pictures. One of PeaBaby's first present from us. Yeah... Harley booties. Who would have guessed? ;)


And a pic of Tif at 16 weeks. I probably won't post to many more pics of Tif here - since she'll be posting them on her own site now! Yeah!

Date Day

I'm not real good about taking time off - which is why I usually end up "burning" some days every year. "If you don't use them, you lose them." Yeah... didn't take enough vacation so the vacation day just goes away. I know - crazy huh? But I usually have so much that I take 2 weeks or more in Dec - and still end up burning them. Well with the Harley, Rallies and the like, *maybe* I'll end up actually taking more days... We'll see.

Anyhow - Monday I started thinking about taking Wed off. Tina's last day of recoup after her knee surgery - she was going back to work on Thur. So I thought it would be a cool surprise. But again - maybe something important would come up at work and I wouldn't take the day. But my Tue morning I figured life was short, nothing was going on and I should go for it. (Yeah I know - not a big decision for many folks, but that's just me.) So Tuesday before I left I told her "If you've got plans of doing anything tomorrow before you go back to work, you should do it today because I'm taking the day off." Totally surprised her.

Wed was awesome. A "Date Day" as we say. Tuesday was beautiful, and Wed was supposed to be the same (but turned out not quite as nice) so we decided to go riding.

We slept in, slowly got around, and then went to Gunther's for breakfast. From there we drove "up the pass" to Woodland Park and stopped at the Doughnut Mill for a Pecan Roll and coffee... Ok - I stopped for more food. Since we had eaten breakfast like 45 minutes prior, Tina didn't need any more food. But its more about the hanging out and taking a break that the food for me. It was a nice ride up. Not much traffic so that was fun. When we first got the bike that road was a little intense - lots of curves, marked 35 in spots, etc. Now its just fast and fun.

We had decided to see Wild Hogs, so after that we headed back down the pass and into town to the show. The plan was to go to the 2:00 and then probably home to just hang out, nap (yeah - at this age napping can be a fun thing...), and then make some dinner.

Well we made it to the 1:30 show. The movie was great. We laughed and laughed. Plus some of it really hit home. Some folks ask if the whole "mid-life crisis" is identifiable. Maybe. But I choose to think of it as the "life is short - we should be enjoying it." Which is maybe the definition of a mid-life crisis. Not sure. In any case - doing things like taking a day off to go riding and be with my honey is what it is all about. Great movie.

Oh... and not only was the story great, but almost every motorcyle in it was a Harley, which was cool - and the soundtrack was great. We seriously need to see if we can get it off of Amazon or something - because we *have* to have it for our next trip!

We came out of the show - to go home and catch some zzzs. But it was just way too nice out. So up to Palmer Lake (a short fun ride) for a steak and beer at O'Malleys. And then finally back home around 6:00.

It was an awesome day with my honey. Put about 110 miles on the bike, spent some time with the wind in our faces, a great movie, some good food, and just a great time hanging out.

After seeing the movie we can't wait for the trip to AZ. We've been excited to see Tif, Brian and the Pea. And excited for the ride - but now we are even more excited. As Peter Fonda's character said, "Ride hard or stay home!" :)

Work

Works been really busy... from a "there is a lot going on" point of view, more than "there is a ton of work everyday" point of view. I guess - lots to think about / work on, vs tons of coding to do.

I'm kind of getting back to more of an architecture, take a bigger picture sort of role, and less of a day-to-day, down in the trenches, coding point of view. Which is cool, 'cuz I like the bigger picture better. But it was good to spend 18 months down in the trenches. Not that I've stopped coding, its just in this current spurt I can spend an hour a morning and some time here and there during the day coding, and still get done what I need to - and spend the rest of the time looking at ways to improve things, consulting with other folks etc.

Its an exciting time for us. We didn't do much new work for quite some time, and then in Oct 2005 we started a new implmentation using an Agile/XP approach. It was some cool new work. Got that up and running and kind of put it in maintenance mode and spread XP to a few more legacy teams. Then in Dec went and talked to some new customers and put up an intial stab at a new system in a week. That was very cool. A full system, taking data and displaying it to the users - in one week. Now working the second phase of that. And besides that we are in intial phases of another new implementation and then met yesterday to talk about a 3rd one. So - pretty much mainteance mode and improving existing systems for several years, and now a new system 18 months ago and then 3 more this month. And we are hiring again.

We are now considered one of the top 100 critical projects in all of IT. So the execs know about us and talk about us. Lets us do some cool stuff - but with the spotlight can come the pressure. But all good things.

So anyway, work is exciting and keeping me plenty busy.

I know - spurts

I tend to blog in spurts. I kind of do everything that way, other than work - and even there its probably spurts of one kind of thing, then another. I'll journal at work every day for weeks, then a few weeks with nothing, then resolve to start journaling again. Not writting journalling, but what I did. Helps with reviews, time sheets, remembering what we thought about a design, etc.

Anyway... need to catch up on blogging. So this will probably be the beginning of another spurt, until it ends. :)

That's my kid

Sitting in the dinning room working on my laptop. Jaime is in the other room watching American Idol on Tivo from last night.

Ryan: Coming up next singing Areosmith and

Jaime: Oh Lord... ... A girl, singing Areosmith.

This is pretty much exactly what I said last night when I was watching it. :)

Baby Stuff

PeaBaby,

We stopped at the Harley store this weekend while out riding. Saw something really cute and had to get it for you. I think its in the mail, but if not, will be soon. Can't say what it is in case your mom is reading the blog.

Love you,
Papa James.

To the MSM - nothing good can ever happen in Iraq

From "Why the Iraq war is turning into America's defeat", by Mark Steyn:

The week's news from Iraq: According to the state television network, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was wounded in a clash with security forces just north of Baghdad. A senior deputy was killed.

Meanwhile, the punk cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has decided that discretion is the better part of mullahs and has temporarily relocated to Iran. That's right: The biggest troublemaker in Iraq is no longer in Iraq.

He also writes that the New York Times sees this as a bad thing. Of course, to most of the MSM the glass is always half empty. No matter what happens in the war, it is a disaster. Like his book, Steyn is giving us real facts but also warning us that as a country we must get our act together.

PeaBaby - pre-birth - week 12

PeaBaby,

The first picture I have of you! Well ok... its kind of hard to see you, wrapped inside your mom like that - but still - proof positive that you are making an impact! It makes me kind of cry when I see you and your mom like this. Time warp back to when your grandma looked like that with your mom. Tons of flashbacks to Montana.

We are *definately* coming down in May to see you and attend the AZ HOG State Rally. The trip will be great, the rally will be great... but seeing you will be the best of all. Speaking of motorcycles... we were thinking of going for a ride today - because it was supposed to be in the 50s - but woke up to an inch or two of snow on the ground. Maybe it will melt today and we'll be able to ride tomorrow.

The worst winter we've had in CO in 12 years they say. I don't ever remember one this bad - and I've been here 17 years or so. Global warming... or preparation for your arrival? Whose to say. ;)

Love ya,

Papa James.

Texas bill would fine parents who skip school conferences

Texas bill would fine parents who skip school conferences

A Houston-area legislator wants to subject parents to criminal charges for skipping a scheduled meeting with their child's teacher.

Republican Rep. Wayne Smith said it is time for the state to crack down on Texans who are shirking their parental responsibilities by failing to meet with the teacher when their child is having academic or disciplinary problems.

...

Under the bill, parents who miss a scheduled conference with a teacher could be charged with a Class C misdemeanor and fined up to $500.

Yeah... this is what law-makers need to be spending time on...

Willim M. Arkin Washington Post anti-milirary article

William M. Arkin of the Washington Post wrote an article with the subtitle of "The Troops Also Need to Support the American People." It was a really long article, otherwise I would have reproduced it here. Mr Arkin watched a news report in which some soliders were discussing how they felt some of the folks back home weren't supporting them. For instance:

First up was 21 year old junior enlisted man Tyler Johnson, whom Engel said was frustrated about war skepticism and thinks that critics "should come over and see what it's like firsthand before criticizing."

"You may support or say we support the troops, but, so you're not supporting what they do, what they're here sweating for, what we bleed for, what we die for. It just don't make sense to me," Johnson said.

These types of comments so upset Mr. Arkin that he said things like the following:

These soldiers should be grateful that the American public, which by all polls overwhelmingly disapproves of the Iraq war and the President's handling of it, do still offer their support to them, and their respect.

So, we pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them, we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak up because they are above society?

But it is the United States and instead this NBC report is just an ugly reminder of the price we pay for a mercenary - oops sorry, volunteer - force that thinks it is doing the dirty work.

America needs to ponder what it is we really owe those in uniform.

What it is we own them is a great deal of respect and thanks for doing what they do for us. Not slamming them like this.

The article allows comments... and there are quite a few. Pages and pages of them. Mostly in favor of the military. There are also a number of blogs talking about this. Many of them calling for this guy to be fired.

Many people are all for our troops and find it hard to believe there are those that don't. Here is a great example of how some on the left really feel.

Getting ready to ride

HOG National and State Rallies are already taking pre-registration. Signed up for the "Ridin' the Rockies" rally in CO and the Arizona "Our Mission is to Ride" State Rally.

The Colorado Rally is here in the Springs this year, so we'll definately go to that. And we are also thinking about going to the Montana "Bikes and Bulls" Rally in Belgrade/Bozeman. We've still got friends up there, so would be cool to stop and see folks on the way up/back. Plus its been 20+ years since Tina has been there. Would be cool to ride through MT, stop in Big Timber, etc.

So that would be one national and three state rallies. We might sign up for some others around here (don't want to go too far this year), but we have to keep late July and Aug open - for PeaBaby's arrival. Plus there are other non-HOG rallies like Thunder in the Rockies, POW Rides, etc. Looks like it will be a busy biking summer. Yeah!

Food Art

PeaBaby,

Your aunt and grandma asked for a "snack" the other night. Bologna, cheese, some olives. So I took the bologna, cut eyes, mouth, and nose out of it, and put it on round colby cheese. Then I cut a green olive and used the slices to fill in the eyes and nose and cut a small pickle lengthways for the mouth. Then made hair out of more cheese.

I'll have to take a picture next time so you know what I'm talking about.

I used to do this all the time for the girls when they were little. Stuff like this, and Mickey Mouse pancakes, colored pancakes, red heart pancakes. I even made green eggs and ham once... but the green eggs freaked them out and they wouldn't eat them.

So - once you are old enough to eat pancakes, I can make this kind of stuff for you. Little girls always think this kind of stuff is cool... little boys probably too. It will be fun to eat breakfast at Papa James' house. :)

Love you!
Papa James

US Border Patrol Agents Jailed for Shooting Drug Smuggler

A couple of weeks ago while driving into work and listening to the Laura Ingraham show, I heard her report on this topic and then found the following article, which opening read:

In El Paso, Texas, two former U.S. Border Patrol agents reported to federal prison officials Wednesday to begin serving sentences imposed after they were convicted last year of shooting an unarmed suspect in the back as he ran across the border into Mexico. The wounded suspect, who had been involved in drug smuggling, was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony against the law officers. As VOA’s Greg Flakus reports from Houston, the case has become a lightning rod for groups demanding better security on the border.

Basically - two border patrol agents (at least one decorated) shot a drug smuggler in teh butt as he ran back across the border. Because they did not fill out their "we discharged our weapons" paperwork - one is serving 10 years and the other 20 years in prison. This was accomplished by the US Govn't tracking down the drug smuggler and offering to heal his wounds, pay him money, get him back in the US, put him up in a nice room, etc., etc. Essentially "Mister Drug Smuggler, we'd like to treat you like a king if you'd be willing to come back and help put two of our hard working border patrol agents in prison."

Now maybe there is more going on in this that I'm aware of after listening to one talk show and reading one article. But apparently there are quite a few senators getting petitions to ask Bush to pardon these guys - so I would assume it is pretty much like it reads. Us going after the good guys, rather than spending the time and effort to make our borders more secure and go after the bad guys. Sigh.

Boup boup - boup boup

Driving home from work yesterday and called Tina (I always call her to let her know I'm on my way home, figure out what we will do for dinner, etc.)

M: Hey babe, I'm heading home. What do you think we should do for dinner?
T: discusses dinner - Hey, I just talked to Tif, she went to the Doctor today and they heard PeaBaby's heart-beat.
M: Wow - that is really cool. I start thinking about that whole thing. Tina at this point in her pregnancy with Tif, not being there to see Tif, etc.
T: Hello... are you still there?
M: croak out yes...
T: Are you CRYING?
M: Just a sec... I can't talk

I so wish I was there to share in all this - to hear the heartbeat. Man - that hit me way harder than I would have thought. We hang up, I shake it off, start breating again, and contine on my way home.

I get home.

M: I can't believe I started crying like that.
T: Yeah I know... I called Tif back and told her you started crying, and then SHE started crying and said "I guess I get that from my dad."

Yeah, I guess she does.

Political activist - baby steps

Well... I've never been much of a political activist, although I throughly enjoyed my political science classes, both in high school and in college. Yes, I enjoyed them in college even though my professor was a very liberal democrat. Exchange of ideas is a very good thing. But today I signed the NRSC Pledge. Perhaps not a big time activist move... but it was a step. I just felt I had to do something.

Some days are just like that

Almost had one task completed this morning when I left home for work.

Now leaving work for home, after being here all day, and that task still isn't done and 3 or 4 more tasks have been added to the plate.

I hate when the number of items "things to get done right away" list increases instead of decreases. Its nice to have it kind of at a steady state (0 would mean no work) or decrease to a stress-free "that should be easy to handle" level.

Oh well... "I'll worry about that tomorrow, after all, tomorrow is another day."

Poltics over security

From the Washington Post, Warner Backs Resolution Opposing Troop Increase

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, yesterday endorsed a new resolution opposing President Bush's buildup of troops in Baghdad, as even some of the most loyal Republicans scrambled to register their concerns and distance themselves from an unpopular policy.

The resolution, unveiled the day before the president's State of the Union address, is expected to garner the support of many Senate Republicans -- especially those facing reelection next year.

So that's what it comes down to. The Democrats and MSM have convinced them that they can't get re-elected if they back the war - and so they'll go up against the president rather than support him and the military - because they believe it will get them votes.

I pretty much always vote for the party, because I'd rather see a Republican rather than a Democrate in office. But there is no way I'd vote to re-elect a Senator or Congressman who opposed Bush on this. Not because they oppose Bush - but because in so doing they are not supporting our troops or the war effort, which is so critical to the future of this nation.

They just don't get it. We are at war...

At least there is some hope:

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) took to the Senate floor yesterday to implore his colleagues not to go through with a vote on any resolution of opposition, calling the effort "pernicious" and "very, very dangerous."

Is this for real?

Hugh Hewitt was discussing this on his show yesterday, and posted it on his blog.

I couldn't believe it when he read it on the air. As some alluded, it was almost funny in the way its funny when someone says something so stupid you can't believe they said it. But it also had a surreal feeling to it. I couldn't believe it was real. It must be a joke, right? Not a very good one, but the author couldn't be serious. I watched Hugh's space during the night and checked back this morning, just in case there was some update. I also read the piece on line and goggled the author - just to see if there were other bloggers talking about it and to see if anyone had the "real scoop" - the real scoop being that this was somehow a joke or something. But I found nothing.

I still don't get it. Perhaps satire? It would be very interesting to know the author's intent. If I here more, I'll post an update.

Here is the full article, reproduced here in case the link eventually goes away on the LA Times site.

Apocalypse again -- call up the Vietnam vets
Where else can Bush get 21,500 trained soldiers for his 'surge'?
By Paul Whitefield, PAUL WHITEFIELD supervises the editorial pages' copy desk.
January 21, 2007

LISTENING TO President Bush's speech on Iraq earlier this month, my first thought was: "Where the heck are we going to get 21,500 more soldiers to send to Iraq?" Our Reserves are depleted, our National Guard is worn out, our Army and Marine Corps are stretched to the limit.

Then it hit me: Re-up our Vietnam War veterans and send them.

They're trained. They're battle-hardened. Many already have post-traumatic stress disorder. Also, some have their own vehicles — Harleys mostly, which are cheap to run, make small targets and are highly mobile. I'll even bet that lots of these guys still have guns (you know, just in case).

OK, some vets are a bit long in the tooth (or don't have teeth — because of Agent Orange?). Or their eyesight isn't what it was. Or their reflexes have slowed. But with today's modern weaponry, how well do you have to see?

Too out of shape, you say? Listen, if Rocky Balboa can step back into the ring at age 60, all these Vietnam War vets need is a little boot-camp magic and they'll be good to go. I mean, who doesn't want to drop a few pounds?

Don't want geezers fighting for us? Well, let's face it, our young people have greater value right here. Most of us want to retire and collect our hard-earned Social Security, and we need those youngsters here, working and paying taxes — lots of taxes.

Finally, these Vietnam War guys are hungry for revenge. After all, they fought in the only war the U.S. ever lost. And they didn't even get a parade. So this is their chance. We can throw them that big parade when they come marching home.

You say Tomato

DefectiveYeti has a great post on You say Tomato. I had a very similar things happen to me before.

My bossed asked me if I got a customer to sign-off on a document. I said they didn't have a fax machine so I couldn't get it to them for them to sign.

Boss: Why don't you just mail it to them.
Me: How are they going to email me back a signed copy?
Boss: Postal mail...

Doh

Email Survey

Got this in mail from Teresa... and took about 5 days to read it. Finally decided to send it out, so I figured I'd post it here as well (one of MightyGirl's things to blog about).

1. What time is it? 9:50 am
2. Name: James
3. What are you afraid of? Riding in the pouring rain on mountain roads on my Harley. Just not fun.
4. What do you drive? Ideally - a 2006 Black Perl Harley Davidson Ultra. When its snowing/raining-hard - a 2001 Jeep
5. Have you ever seen a ghost? Nope
6. Where were you born? Hawthorn CA
7. Have you ever been to Alaska? No
8. Ever used toilet paper decorating in trees? Yup
9. Croutons or Bacon bits? Bacon Bits
10. Favorite day of the week? Saturday. Day to ride the Harley or read/watchMovies
11. Favorite restaurant: I like too many to name just one
12. Favorite Flower: California Poppy
13. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH: Football
14. Favorite drink: Bailys... or maybe Blue Cauraco, or Crandberry and Vodka. No I'm not a big drinker - but like food, I like too many to have a favorite
15. Favorite Ice cream: Popsciles - does that count?
16. Disney or Warner Brothers: Warner Brothers
17. Favorite fast food restaurant: Greek Grille
18. What color is your bedroom carpet? light beige.
19. How many times you failed your driver's test : None
20. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Robert
21. What do you do most often when you are bored? Work. Yeah - I like what I do. So usually if I'm bored I code. Its fun.
22. Bedtime: 9:30
23. Who will respond to this email the quickest? Not sure
24. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond? Someone on my list that I don't actually know.
25. Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses. Hmm... not sure. Wow, I appear to be pretty wishy-washy on this stuff.
26. Favorite TV shows? The Unit, American Idol, Prison Break, So You Think You Can Dance (Hey, Jaime loves it and I like watching stuff with her that she is into).
27. FORD OR CHEVY? Definately Chevy
28. What are you listening to right now? The snow and wind whip around the house
29. What are your favorite colors? Black
30. How many tattoos do you have? None. I'm pain-adverse
31. Do you have any pets? Finally - NO
32. Which came first the chicken or the egg? Chicken
33. What would you like to accomplish before you die? Spend plenty of time with my grandkids.
34. What are your favorite birds? none
35. How many people are you sending this e-mail to? I don't know - 20 or so

How Arafat Got Away with Murder

Article by Scott W. Johnson in the Weekly Standard. Opening text:

Twenty years before he joined Bill Clinton and Yitzhak Rabin in Washington for that famous handshake--and proceeded to become Clinton's most frequent foreign guest at the White House--Yasser Arafat planned and directed the murder of an American ambassador and his deputy chief of mission. From the first moment of the deadly operation, which took place in Khartoum on March 1, 1973, the State Department possessed direct evidence of Arafat's responsibility, yet neither the State Department nor any other government agency made public its knowledge. Indeed, as recently as the summer of 2002, the State Department denied that such evidence existed. Across seven administrations, the State Department hewed to silence and denial.

Didn't I go through this before?

[And life goes on - because we do live in a world made safer than it otherwise could be...]

When Tina was pregnant with Tif, she had all kinds of cravings. We lived next door to our restaraunt, and it wasn't uncommon for her to wake me up at 2AM with "Would you go make me a chocholate milkshake?" and I'd throw on some clothes, go open the restaraunt, turn on the shake machine and make one. She was making the baby... the least I could do was make her shakes in the middle of the night. But that is a distant memory...

So tonight she is on the phone with Tif and Jaime comes downstairs:

Mom is on the phone with Tif and Tif is craving CocoPops... and now mom is craving them too, so wonders if you'd go get her some?

So off to King Sooper's (its only 8PM, not 2AM) I go, to feed my wife's cravings brought on by the baby... but this time it isn't our baby, its our baby's baby.

Here we go again... only 8 months to go. ;)

We live in a strange time

From a Hugh Hewitt post:

Lt. Mark Daily was killed in Iraq on Monday. Though I did not know him, we have many friends in common, one of whom sent me the post that Lt. Daily had put at his MySpace page. Lt. Daily was a graduate of UCLA and Woodbridge High School in Irvine, California. He was named ROTC's outstanding cadet in his region for 2005, and a Distinguished Military Graduate. He is survived by his wife Janet, his mother and father, Linda and John, and three siblings, Christine, Eric and Nicole. Here is Lt. Daily's post:

I won't repeat the post, but if you click on it you can read it. It talks all about his feelings on the war and why he thought it was important to join. If you then read the posts on his site, starting at the most recent ones, you'll read posts from his friends and family about how much they'll miss him, etc. And as you read back (its only been a few days) you'll also read posts like, "Hey, let me know when you get my package" and things like that.

How bizzare. A personal glimpse into a stranger's life, days, hours before his death, and then after.

Many would read this and use it as an excuse to pull out. But they just don't get it. These guys (and girls) know they might die. But they believe in bigger things. Not in the romantic (if you believe in that) side of a war, but in the reality of the war. And as Mark said and believed, "Don't forget that human beings have a responsibility to one another and that Americans will always have a responsibility to the oppressed."

Once again my heart goes out to these "kids" and all they are doing for us - even though we don't all appreciate it. In these times of self-indulgence and "me" - there are still many young men and women who believe in the bigger good and putting their life on the line for what is "right".

Sneak peek?

Hey PeaBaby,

Look what they can do today. Take really good pictures of you before you're even born! Maybe your mom can get some like this when you get a little bigger, so we can get a sneak peek!

And yeah... we're sure there is just one of you. Your mom and grandma have already had THAT talk.

Love ya,
Papa James

Hey kid, hows it going?

PeaBaby,

You mom left a comment on Its Official.

Hi daddy!
I just wanted to let you know that I finally read these - out loud with my hand on my belly even :).

And of course I sat here and bawled like a baby for no apparent reason. Not that this is a big surprise of course. It happens all the time lately. But thank you just the same! Pea Baby says hi right back.
Love you!

That was so cute of your mom. I love her so much. Her comment made me think of a couple of things.

• Since she is reading these to you, I'd better keep writting them! Its been a while since the last one (which caused me to write this one). I've been pretty busy at work. Some actual work, and some just thinking about things. But I need to keep writting to you!
  
• Its kind of amazing how much a child changes your life - even before they are born. As I think of her with you, it causes me to think alot about us with her. And all kinds of scenes flash through my head of when your grandma was carrying your mom, and things from when she was a little kid. You've really caused me to go back in time - and its very cool. I miss your mom lots.
  
• As she'll probably tell you, and you'll find out, I'm not a great phone conversation person. I so enjoy when your folks are here during holidays. I wish they lived closer... In any case, we don't talk much, and she isn't emailing much later, so getting comments back on my blog is very cool.

Anyway - very weird what an impact you are making on our lives, and you aren't even "here" yet. I can't wait to see you and talk to you - even before you are born. You're mom is going to look so cute! We are planning on coming down in May for the HOG AZ State Rally - you should be showing kind of by then. How fun. And then of course coming down to actual get a real look at you when you are born.

Well - time to get ready for work. Hope you have a great day - and don't make your mom to sick.

Talk to you soon,

Papa James.

Ideas Vs. Execution

I ended up here from Hugh Hewitt's site for a totally different reason. But then read a few more entries and found this one: Ideas Vs. Execution. From that post:

This is a great quote cited in Getting Real where they are discussing the importance or of getting things done rather than deliberating over decisions. In other words - when developing web software - make decisions quickly and then build. If you make a bad decision - the web is flexible enough to change later.

Be An Executioner

It’s so funny when I hear people being so protective of ideas. (People who want me to sign an nda to tell me the simplest idea.)

To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.

We are so running into this lately. We have a potential project that can help solve a very real, very big problem. We know what we want to do initially. Its a big problem. There are multiple ways to attack it. Take an Agile/XP/LetsGetStarted approach, and tackle one small part of the problem and get something out that is useful. Then build on it. This domain space is also quickly changing. So the problem we might attack today, might not even exist a year from now. In other words, as you put together detection capabilities, folks (like fraudsters) realize you are detecting them and adapt. So - attack the problem today with a system that can quickly evolve, and as things change, adapt the system. Or you can take a waterfall/letsFigureItAllOutNow approach and take 6 months or a year to come up with "the final solution" and by the time you get it built, it will no longer address the problem because its out-of-date.

Convincing people of this, in a large company, where they are use to the "we have to know everything up-front" approach, is almost impossible. Sigh. So you do what you can.

In any case, since I've been dealing with this lately, it was interesting to read something that was sort of addressing the same problem.

Its a heat wave

Thank goodness we have digital tempature readings on web pages. That way I know its 0.9 degrees outside. Woo hoo - above 0. Getting warm now. ;)

Supposed to be -10 degrees (F) on the way in from Pueblo. All in all - not effecting too much other than my heating bill I'm sure. And its supposed to warm up later in the week.

I'm not tasting it

Getting ready to do a daily status report, folks gathered in a group, when someone says the following:

D: I know this is going to sound weird... but I need someone to taste this, ''holding up a cup of coffee.'' No seriously, I *need* someone to taste it.

''everyone looks at each other and then looks around again''

D: Seriously

M: I'll taste it.

D: Does it taste sour?

M: I'm not sure. I don't usually drink coffee, so it does taste kind of weird to me.

D: Well I think it tastes kind of sour. I tasted it and though, "Hey... that's how my ceral tastes sometimes."

A tools a tool... I guess

Overheard at work today:

"I had to ride my laptop down the driveway this morning. Well I had to use something otherwise I would have slipped and fallen."

Sure... $75 snow shoes or a $1000 laptop. 6 of one 1/2 a dozen of another I guess...

Terrorizing Terrorists

Op Ed by Ralph Peters on the attack yesteday in Somalia.

Note to Self

Turns out its not a good idea to feel around for a book, in the dark, on the chest of drawers, when someone has left a glass with a bit of Diet Pepsi and melted ice sitting next to the book.

Yeah... feeling your hand bump something and then hearing the flow of liquid, the smell of old diet pepsi and the clang of class hitting a surface. Not something you want to experience at 6AM.

Leave books somewhere "safe" to find in the dark...

Looking more like MT all the time

The cool thing about CO is that if it does snow, it only lasts a few days, it warms up and all the snow melts off. Not like MT where, for the most part, once it snows, it is there till Spring.

So... that is what I *used* to think. Not so much any more. It snowed before Christmas and the street still hasn't cleared, and its snowing again.

So much for riding the bike to work all winter. :(

teenage conversations

Overhead someone talking on their cell phone:

So, Tom wanted a few of us to go out for dinner tomorrow night: me, Jenny, a few others
If he hasn't called you yet... then I guess you aren't invited!
(evil laugh)

Snap... that was kind of harsh.

Its official

PeaBaby,

Called your mom last night. Yesterday was her last day at work, and grandma was worried about how she was taking it. She said the Dr called and... Its official. She's pregnant! Of course we already knew that, but good to make things "official."

She also told us that your other grandmother has already bought you your *first present* and that we were *slackers*. Guess we better find some non-gender specific infant harley clothes, and fast!

Your mom called today to say they are heading to MI. I bet all your grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. are going to be so excited. Have a great time (although its probably all pretty much the same to you at this point. :) ).

Love ya,
Papa James

America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It

Just finished reading America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It by Mark Steyn. Although it got me worked up a bit, I thought it was a good read. As I've said previously, its good to know what is going on in the world, even if things are worse than you thought. I hadn't realized how much radical Islam had... infiltrated(?) our society. Things like Britian no longer being able to fly their national flag over some public buildings because it contains a cross and it offends Muslims, schools where you can't say Christmas, but students are required to pray to Allah, memorize parts of the Koran, etc. - because that isn't "religious" but "cultural", etc. Pretty eye opening. Perhaps it will make people wake up.

Hello Pea Baby

As noted previously, I'm going to be a grandpa. I am totally syched about it. I've been waiting for probably 3 or 4 years. No pressure on the kids... but I'm just at that point in my life. My kids are all grown up (don't tell Jaime I said that - I'm still denying that she will be 20 and telling her "no you won't. You are just a baby) and I'm just ready for a little kid to spoil and hand back to the parents.

And since I can't wait - and since there are cool things I see all the time that make me think about "her" (yeah, I know - no idea if it is a girl or a boy. But my babies were girls so that is how I think of the pea baby right now. We'll see. Either way will be extremely cool) - I've decided to start "talking" to her now.

---

Hey pea baby. I am *so* excited to see you. I know its still 8 months off... but I figured I'd say hello now. You're mom is so cute. You wouldn't believe how excited she is - and how "motherly" and "protective" she is already about you. Anyway - I have to get to work - but I just wanted to say "Hi" and let you know I'll be writting more stuff to you here. And oh - if you are a boy... sorry about calling you "her", "she", etc. - but "it" just doesn't feel right. If you are a boy - great. And remind me to tell you the story about the army fatigues! :)

Love you kid - talk to you later,

Papa James

Capital Punishment and Saddam

[ All the time I think "I should blog this" but never get around to it. So... I figured I'd throw this out there. Not as long as it should be perhaps, but if I wait till I get enough time, I might not blog it at all. ]

Listening to talk radio the other day and they were discussin Saddam's execution and whether and the issues surrounding the death penalty and capital punishment. I thought the following was a very interesting point, and one I hadn't considered before.

While Saddam was alive, he still yielded considerable power. You might think, "We got him, he's in jail - he'll no longer be killing millions of his own people, Kurds, Persians, etc."; but it turns out that isn't true. Just as a "maifia don" many times controls his organization from within the prison walls, so to was the possibility that Saddam would continue to control his. He claimed he would return to power, and many of his subjects, people in his party, etc. believed him. And for that reason, many were scared to come forward, aid the US, etc. I mean - if someone is known for killing anyone in his country that speaks out against him, and if you think that he is going to return; how likely are you to speak out? Plenty did - but there were plenty that were probably too scared to.

That fear no longer exists.

So - unlike many "murderers" who might be on death row for a "localized crime" - killing a particular person, etc - and so giving them a life sentence removes their ability to commit a similar crime in the future; there are a set of people - such as Saddam - where merely removing them from society may not render them powerless. Their power is probably reduced, but they may still have the ability to commit similar crimes, even though they are locked up.

I think its a good point - regardless of how you feel about capital punishment.

The things we pass on to our kids

A few random posts on stuff over the holidays...

Driving along behind *this car* going down a major road in the Springs. The roads aren't that bad, the traffic is flowing pretty good... but this person, if they can see a light that's red up ahead *somewhere* - then it is obviously time to slow down. So while everyone else is going 50, they are going 35 and coming to an almost complete stop a block from the light. Just in case I guess. I'm about ready to jump out of my skin when I hear Jaime's voice behind me.

OH MY GOD. What is WRONG with this person! Can't they go ANY FASTER.

Yup... that's *my* kid. :)

Papa James

And in the biggest news of the holiday season... TIF IS EXPECTING. Yup... I'm going to be a grandpa. I am totally syched. My photo blog will probably turn into a commercial web site for infant Harley clothes. ;)

Anyway - that was the best present Tif and Brian could have given us for Christmas. :)

Vacation

Its been a great time off. The blizzard was a bit of a hiderance: we are now into week 3 of waiting for our new fridge which was supposed to arrive in 2 days, and we missed going to my brother's house the day after Christmas; but its also been a blessing: Jaime and I spent pretty much two solid days just haning out and playing X*box-360. We are so busy in our normal lives (work, riding the bike, jaime hanging with Michael, doing youth leader stuff, etc.) not to mention all of that plus more during the holidays, that we don't get that much time to spend together. So - being stuck in the house and having to spend time together was a hugh blessing for me.

Not much blogging or email - because I pretty much stayed off the computer. Getting on the computer usually leads to doing some work - so by staying off it pretty much completely, I was able to really get away from work. Which was a good thing, since 2007 is shaping up to be a very busy year for us. Tons of work - not enough people. Although it looks like we might actually HIRE some folks - which we haven't done *forever*. So that would be very cool.

So - its been a good time off, and I'm not looking forward to going back - but I've got 6 weeks off this year, so I should get plenty of time of touring around on the bike and getting away from work. So its all good.

A different Christmas poem

Read this email this morning. Given my recent post on Seth - I figured it was very appropriate.

---

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe.

Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Yeah... it was a blizzard

Out shoveling the driveway (for about 3 hours) yesterday and talking to the neighbor across the street who was shoveling her driveway with her son when we heard something coming down the street and looked up to see a dog sled team coming down the street. It was being pulled by 3 "snow dogs". First time I've ever seen that in Colorado!

Also a few snow mobiles driving down the street. Common in Big Timber, MT, where I grew up, but never have I seen it here.

Also heard the neighbor say to her son, after the two of them had been shoveling for about an hour, "I think we should get your dad a snowblower for Christmas!". :)

It snows big like this very infrequently - so you have to shovel maybe a couple of times a year. So there are far fewer snow blowers bought than in other "snow states". Its a pain - but when its only a few times a year, it just doesn't seem worth it. Although we've already had two big snows this year...

The war hits home

Jaime got word Sunday night that Seth Stanton, a friend of hers, had died from injuries suffered in Iraq. There were a number of news reports here and here.

I particularly liked this post:

One of the last pictures taken of Private First Class Seth Stanton was just as the sun was coming up in Iraq. The caption read "this is me, at 5 am, protecting those who sleep.

I didn't know Seth that well... saw him at youth a few times. But Jaime was talking about him the other night, "I don't think he'd want me to be sad. Any time I was sad at youth he'd always say, 'Jaime. Be Happy. Don't be so down.' and make me smile. I don't think he'd want me to be all sad at Christmas, even though he died." Seems to tie in well with someone that would say "This is me, at 5 AM, protecting those who sleep."

Not only was he protecting those who sleep there, but he was protecting those who sleep here.

Seth, Although words can't well express it, and you'll never read this, I appreciate that you were protecting me. I appreciate the sacrifice you and your family gave. And I appreciate that your words uplifted my daughter when you spoke them - and they continue to uplift her and help her to deal with your death.

Prospects of Terror: An Inquiry into Jihadi Alternatives

Heard the web site American Thinker mentioned on talk radio yesterday and ran across the article Prospects of Terror: An Inquiry into Jihadi Alternatives. I thought it was a very interesting read.

Location Earth - Dog Tags

This is just what everyone needs! ;)

Actually kind of cool. Its worth reading the site. I particularly like:

should you ever be abducted by aliens while wearing Location Earth Dog Tags and not returned safely to Earth you will be entitled to a full refund of the purchase price

T.F. Boggs - a solider's point of view

In this post by Hugh Hewitt, I found a link to T.F. Boggs' post about his thoughts on the ISG report. Good reading. I read some of his earlier posts as well, and thought they were all good. I especially liked the following from near the end of an earlier post:

I survived bullets and bombs now let’s see if I can survive a country where Nancy Pelosi is third in command

Pay attention

A number of posts this morning discussing the cluelessness (imo) of the Democrats - or at least the Democrats in power, Main Stream Media, etc. As a military person said on the radio yesterday "We are an army at war and a nation at peace." People don't believe there really is a war going on. We are just sticking our noses in where they don't belong. If we quite messing with them, they'd stop messing with us. Regardless of the fact that they have called for the destruction of Israel and of the United States.

So - as depresessing as that seems... Its a *good* thing to be informed. Yeah, the talk shows I listen to our biased... but I'm still hearing the congressional exchanges, hearing senators say that no intelligent young person would join the military, etc.

People feel like they can't make a difference. You can. Yeah, its just one vote... but its worth voting anyway. No one's perfect. No candidate backs all your beliefs, feels the way you do on all the issues. But come on - some are obviously worse than others. "The better of two evils" may kind of suck... but hey, if you don't vote, you're going to potentially get the "Worst of two evils".

So yeah - it might not be good news - but its news. And its good to stay informed and realize what is going on in the world right now and how important some of these issues are - and what they could mean to the future of our country.

And our media continues to be their propaganda machine

Speaking shortly before senior diplomats from six world powers were scheduled to meet in Paris on Tuesday to discuss sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the European Union that any punitive measure would be considered an act of hostility by Tehran. "I am telling you in plain language that from now on, if you try, whether in your propaganda or at international organisations, to take steps against the rights of the Iranian nation, the Iranian nation will consider it an act of hostility," Ahmadinejad said.

Yeah - who would have seen that comming? After stating that we wouldn't attack them because it would be too costly they turn around and say "If you put sanctions on us, we'll consider it an act of war".

So,

• war is too costly and we don't want to go to war,
  
• sanctions == war
  
• therefore; we don't want sanctions

And people think that this (not getting into a conflict with Iran, minding our own business, keeping to ourselves, etc.) is in the best interests of our country and the world. Yeah... because we are too big and powerful and no-one would ever think of attacking us. Sigh.

Its just an unbiased study to get to the truth...

From Hugh Hewitt's post: From Tehran:Iran's study of the Holocaust "does not mean we deny the crimes of Hitler"., his quoting a news article that I couldn't get a link to:

MORE than 60 researchers from 30 countries will attend a controversial conference on the Holocaust next week to examine the event without any "preconceived ideas", Iran said today.

Deputy Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mohammadi said the staging of the conference on December 11 and 12 was a response to the lack of answers to questions posed over the Holocaust by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr Ahmadinejad, who has also called for Israel to be wiped off the map, has repeatedly raised questions about the scale of the Holocaust and even described the mass slaughter of Jews in World War II as a "myth".

"Ahmadinejad asked, did the Holocaust happen or not? And if it happened why are scholars prevented from doing research on this and why are revisionists thrown into prison?" Mr Mohammadi said.

"And if it happened, why should the Palestinians pay for this?"

The conference would, "without any preconceived ideas, provide the atmosphere for scholars and researchers from both sides to give their papers in the utmost freedom".

Mr Mohammadi declined to give the names of the 67 international scholars he said would be attending, because of fears their home countries would ban them from travelling to Tehran.

He stressed that Iran's study of the Holocaust "does not mean we deny the crimes of Hitler"

And their study is going to find that the Holocaust did not happen, and be just one more reason for them to wipe Israel off the face of the map.

"There is no Holocaust, there should be no Israel, we have WMDs and the US Democrats and Mass Media have stated over and over that we are good guys and they don't want to go to war with us. What have we got to lose. Push the button."

Maybe I should stop reading political blogs and listening to talk radio. The cluelessness is really starting to get to me.

Honor and Duty - its something not everyone gets

I was listening to talk radio the other night on the way home and heard a quote by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. It floored me. I found it today in
Military mockery: Democrats harbor outdated, outlandish views of those who serve our nation a post by Jack Kelly:

"I want to make it abundantly clear: If there's anyone who believes that these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No young, bright individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of educational benefits. And most all of them come from communities of very, very high unemployment. If a young fella has an option of having a decent career or joining the Army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq."

It struck me that someone could be so out of touch with what is really going on in this country. Sure, there are some that join the army looking for a job or a paycheck (alhtough the pay isn't that good) - but there are many people that do it out of a sense of honor, duty, etc.

As Jack Kelly said:

But many bright young people have enlisted to fight and have re-enlisted after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. That the reason is a mystery to Rep. Rangel, Sen. Kerry and many other Democratic leaders is troubling for the future of our country.

They believe every inteligent/bright person thinks/feels like them, and the fact that they have no honor or sense of duty means that no-one else does either. So their *must* be some other reason for joining like money or because they can't get a job anywhere else.

And his closing comment:

For many Democrats, being an American is all about rights, not duties. Though the rights they demand would not exist were it not for the dwindling number of Americans willing to perform the duties of citizenship, they regard with barely concealed contempt those Americans whose sense of duty causes them to go in harm's way. If America's "leaders" have such attitudes, can the nation long survive?

Sigh. Good point.

For Christ's sake -- literally

From Kathryn Jean Lopez article entitled: For Christ's sake -- literally:

Yes, seriously, red and green -- great threats to the Establishment Clause if caught anywhere near a public school, right? Gibson writes of his experience over the last year: "Many parents contacted me and said the story of Plano, Texas, where the school board wouldn't allow the colors red and green for the plates and cups and napkins at the kids 'winter' party, was actually quite common. I heard about one school where the principal went to each schoolroom before Thanksgiving and put all red and green construction paper under lock and key until after New Years. It is silly and paranoid actions like that which make people certain the war is real and not a figment of their imagination."

It just gets more and more stupid...

joke of the day

irc post by "opie" at work:

Why did the multithreaded chicken cross the road?

to To other side. get the

He's a 4 digit badge

I was at DCU (Digital Credit Union) today. I started at DCU when I worked for Digital, and because its an excellent credit union, I'm still there today. Digital is gone - but its credit union lives on. I was talking to one of the bank employees and she was asking what I did at verizon. In the midst of this conversation she asked me my badge number and I gave it to her.

This reminding me of one of the small parts of the Digital culture. I had a fairly low 6 digit bad number. DEC did not pre-assign some format to their badge numbers, like starting at say 100000 because they knew they'd have over 100,000 employees at some point in time. So they had some pretty small badge numbers around. I don't know if they started at 1 or not, but I know they had 4 digit badge numbers. If you had a 4 digit badge number, then you started when there were less than 10,000 employees.

Because DEC was such a great place to work, "back in the day", families would end up working there. It wasn't uncommon when I worked back in MA to talk to someone who said, "My dad works for DEC too", or "My uncle works for DEC", etc. And usually when they said that some previous generation person worked for DEC, they would add in "He's a 4 digit badge" - this was the DEC way of saying "He's an old-timer. Been with the company forever."

Its a small thing... but it was just one of the cool things at DEC. At least I thought it was cool :) - It was kind of a sign of loyalty, etc. You could always pretty much tell when you were hired in relation to someone, even if you had a 6 digit badge. You were in the 200K range perhaps, and they were in the 300K range. Because I thought I'd work for DEC forever (why not - everyone I knew at the time was kind of planning on that - because they had family who had done it), I thought it would be cool some day when someone said about me, "He's a 6 digit badge".

DEC has since gone the way of many no-longer-present computer companies - but memories of them live on. Its not uncommon for me to talk about DEC at least once a month. Tell a story, talk about VMS, etc. It was a great company to work for, with a great culture. I worked at DEC for 8 years. 2 back east and 6 out here. I've worked for MCI, MCI-WorldCom, WorldCom, MCI and now Verizon for 11 years. I've never seen the same kind of culture, loyalty to company, etc. that I did there.

I hadn't thought about the concept of being a 4 digit badge for a long time. It made me smile...

IraqTheModel

An Iraqi blogger. I only read the post from yesterday, but I'm going to try and follow it when I can. Its always good to read some blogs from locals.

Tis the season

Peace on earth? Not in our subdivision!

A homeowners' association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.

Do people not have anything better to do?

WreathsAcrossAmerica and ArlingtonCemetery

Got this in email - so googled it to make sure it was true. A wreath manufacturer in Maine had donated 5000 wreathes to Arlington Cemetery for the last 14 years, and this year they are donating wreaths across america. The Patriot Gurad will escort the wreaths from Maine to Arlington. Pretty cool.

Honey Baked Hams - served at room temp

Because I didn't know... figured I'd post this. :)

Erika called to ask me how long to cook a Honey Baked Ham. She said there were no instructions on the ham. I figured a few hours them - just to warm it up... But then I looked around on the internet.

According to their serving instructions (which took a little bit to find):

The HoneyBaked Ham and Turkey Breast are fully cooked and ready to enjoy. For the very best flavor, take the Ham or Turkey Breast out of the refrigerator and allow it to stand at room temperature a half-hour before serving. Refrigerate unused portions immediately.

Heating May cause the Ham or Turkey to dry out and lose flavor.

Happy Thanksgiving - WKRP Turkey Drop

I remember when this first aired. Still makes my laugh till I cry. :) If you've got the band-width, check it out. Its a classic.

another consolidation of news headlines

the news right now lists up-to-date news headlines from various news sources and counties.